


Scarr'd the Moon with Splinters

by arcane_lark



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Aftercare, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Always remember to hydrate after playing, Dom/sub Undertones, Fluff, Good BDSM Etiquette, Hux reads genre fiction and is embarrassed by it, Kylo needs a hug, M/M, Rope Bondage, Shibari, These two dumb boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 19:20:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7119238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcane_lark/pseuds/arcane_lark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kylo stands on the threshold and takes the leap.</p>
<p>Hux has an idea of what to do.</p>
<p>They'll figure out the rest as they go.</p>
<p>(Hopefully part of a larger AU in the future.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scarr'd the Moon with Splinters

**Author's Note:**

> A slice from a larger AU: ex-ballet-dancer Hux and human trash fire Kylo Ren are forced to share studio space for the season at the regional theater in which they are both artists in residence. By this point in the summer, they've stopped hating each other (mostly), started hooking up (frequently), and are growing feelings that neither of them are willing to deal with yet (awkwardly).

Kylo is more nervous than he wants to admit as he pulls up to the address Hux texted him earlier, before he had left the theater and Kylo went in for his last rehearsal of the day. The house is completely unassuming, which somehow makes it all even stranger. Hux belongs in an ultramodern loft in some unspeakably trendy neighborhood, not this… suburban ranch with immaculately manicured hedges.

He parks his car on the street and walks up the slate path to the front door, willing the knots in his stomach to subside.

They don't.

He almost rings the doorbell before the post-it stuck to the door catches his eye:

 

> _I'm on the back patio. Just walk around._
> 
> _-H_

 

Kylo takes a steadying breath and makes his way to the back of the house.

Hux is lounging in an Adirondack chair on a small stone patio, reading on his kindle and smoking one of his ridiculous cloves. Millicent stretches in a beam of dappled sunlight at his bare feet. He's draped in some sort of gray fabric, but Kylo is hard pressed to figure out what to call the garment at the moment.

He looks… peaceful. Younger, or maybe ageless. Not quite human.

Kylo’s heart nearly stops as he steps on a twig and it snaps. Hux looks up and the moment is gone— a slightly hungry smile spreads across his face now.

“Um. I brought wine?” Kylo says once he's not afraid he’ll collapse like a fainting goat.

“Better than ‘I carried a watermelon.’ I’ll take it,” Hux replies. He sets his kindle on the table next to his chair, and stubs his clove out in the ashtray. “I thought we might stay out here for a bit, the sun is too nice to pass up,” he adds.

Kylo nods and folds himself awkwardly into the other Adirondack chair. 

Hux studies him, taking in the messy topknot, the cropped tank top and compression leggings. Kylo adjusts his posture so that the muscles in his shoulders bulge slightly, and the way Hux’s mouth twitches calms his mind somewhat. Physical objectification, he can handle. It's when Hux seems to look right through to the core of him that he has trouble.

The silence drags on, and his calmness dissipates.

“What are you reading?” Kylo blurts out.

Rather than the expected reaction of an eye roll or scoff, Hux blushes. “Rereading a series I find myself sucked into every now and again,” he admits. “It's faux-medieval french historical fantasy about a sacred whore and the ultimate sadist.”

Kylo smiles his lopsided smile. “You read genre fiction?”

Hux’s blush deepens. “In my defense, there are some incredibly hot parts, plus one of the characters is an oathsworn warrior-priest who breaks his vow of celibacy and is quite deliciously tormented about it.”

“You don't have to sell me,” Kylo replies softly. “I'd read anything you recommended without a question,” he adds before he can stop himself.

Hux huffs a breathless laugh. “You might actually enjoy it. I've got a paperback copy somewhere, I’ll lend it to you if you swear never to tell anyone you got it from me.”

It's half a joke, but there's a thread of vulnerability underneath. Hux has started to let him under his impenetrable armor, and Kylo can hardly breathe with the terror and responsibility he feels not to break anything like the clumsy hulking brute he knows he is.

Hux studies Kylo’s face, then stands up. Kylo can see now that he's wearing a dove gray robe, which falls to just above his knees. It's exactly the sort of careless elegance that he is so drawn to, and so terrified of bruising.

“Come inside,” Hux commands. Kylo follows him into the house, clutching the crinkling plastic bag containing the wine he'd bought at the painfully hip wine shop.

It occurs to him that Hux probably has a fully stocked fucking wine cellar, temperature controlled and everything. He doesn't need the bottle Kylo grabbed because the graphic design on the label was interesting and it was only the third cheapest on the shelf. Kylo is considering just turning around and going back to his car, but then Hux picks up a pair of wine glasses from a wrought iron bar cart next to an open door leading to the basement and looks back over his shoulder with a half smile.

“I've got some ideas for how we can entertain ourselves, if you're interested?”

And Kylo is gone, he is absolutely gone for this perfect bastard, flawless and cool and he knows that it's only a matter of time before he fucks it up, before he is too big and clumsy and messy and raw for the controlled balance of Hux’s world, but he's going to stay here as long as he possibly can.

And he's not going to let himself think about what might happen if Hux were actually capable of handling him. He's not, that's not going to happen, so there's no point.

So he follows Hux to the basement, and stops dead at the bottom of the stairs.

The rig is gorgeous. Sturdy and big, with two solid rings hanging from the top bar. There are thick athletic mats underneath, with careful piles of rope lined up along one side.

Hux is watching him again, making sure that he hasn't misjudged the situation. Kylo tears his attention away from the setup and meets those searching eyes.

He can't speak. He bends down to set the bottle of wine on the floor, toes off his shoes, and crosses the room to inspect the rig.

Kylo is vaguely aware of Hux moving behind him as he runs his hand along the cool metal of the rig; examines the knots connecting the rings to the top bar. He reaches up to take a ring in each of his hands and lowers his body until they're holding his full weight, no hint of instability.

Hux has collected the wine and placed the bottle, along with the glasses, on a little café table, and he is watching Kylo with a fond expression on his face that makes Kylo’s cheeks burn.

Kylo does a pull up with the rings. Then another. Hux grins and Kylo calms.

“That wasn't quite what I had in mind, but if you're enjoying yourself, I'm happy to watch,” Hux comments.

Kylo does one more pull up and then drops to the mat. “Is this where we talk about who's doing what to who?”

Hux comes to kneel on the mat across from Kylo, picking up one of the smaller bundles of rope and running his hands over the coils.

“I was thinking of doing something simple and easy on you, but from how you were inspecting my setup it seems like you might have more experience with this than I anticipated, so why don't you tell me what I'm working with.”

Kylo ducks his head to hide his face. “Yeah, I… It's been a while since it wasn't just me self-suspending, there's not a lot of people who jump at the chance to tie anyone who isn't a ninety pound waif, so whatever you wanted would be. Nice.”

He takes a deep breath and looks up, looks Hux dead in the eye, and adds “I can take a lot.”

Hux grins. “That is exactly what I was hoping to hear.”

Kylo shivers visibly. “My left ankle is kind of messed up, but as long as you don't do anything load bearing it shouldn't be an issue. And, um…” he pauses, trying to find words that won't make his next request sound stupid. “Um, if there's rope between my toes or in my mouth I get really agitated, and I just really don't want to go there tonight.”

Hux nods, and Kylo hopes sharply that he is filing that idea away for another day. “Understood. How do you feel about something dynamic?”

“Fuck, yes, please.”

Hux’s grin turns wide and dangerous. “Oh, this is going to be delightful. Up now, stretch anything you need to stretch and strip down to your… are you even wearing underwear? No, not in those pants. So just strip, then,” he instructs, rising gracefully to his feet.

Kylo is still warm from rehearsal earlier, so he really only needs to roll out his ankles, shoulders, neck. Hux is watching him out of the corner of his eye, and Kylo knows that this is going to take him apart in a way that their previous hurried fucks in the rehearsal studio (and prop closet, and dressing room, and lighting booth…) could never do.

And if this is going to be his only chance before Hux is repulsed by what a goddam mess of a person he is, then he is going to grab it with both hands and get everything he can out of it.

Kylo strips and tosses his clothes in a pile at the side of the rig. Hux rakes his eyes up Kylo’s body, and Kylo shivers.

Hux steps closer, pulling a marlinspike from the pocket of his robe. He traces the tip from Kylo’s navel up to the hollow of his throat, across his collarbones, and up the side of his neck. He finally pushes it through the mass of hair at the top of Kylo’s head, twisting it slightly so that it stays in place. Kylo gasps.

“Thought that might be a convenient place to keep it,” Hux purrs into Kylo’s ear. “Turn around, arms behind you, hands against the opposite forearm.”

Kylo obeys instantly, breathing deeply in a vague attempt to calm himself. He knows that this moment will be the worst part, and that once the rope is on him his mind will be quiet.

Quieter.

He can hear Hux picking up a few bundles of rope, flicking one out. The room smells like cold metal and jute, and the warmth radiating from Hux’s body behind him is intoxicating.

Hux smooths the first length of rope around his wrists, and Kylo lets out a soft sigh that is nearly a moan. Hux’s hands are steady and sure as he wraps the rope over Kylo’s chest and upper arms, fingers deftly weaving hitches and knots against his skin.

Hux adds a second length of rope to the first, settling the connection between the two in an unobtrusive location that Kylo realizes won't dig in when he inhales.

It's only then that it hits him how _good_ Hux is at this, how fluid and intentional his movements are, and how he has everything laid out so perfectly so quickly after changing his plan for the evening. His cock throbs and he takes in a shuddering breath as he feels the constricting pressure of the rope settle around him.

As Hux finishes the chest harness, he tugs on the trailing length of rope, pulling Kylo slightly off balance so he stumbles backward into Hux. He melts into the sudden contact, one of Hux’s arms tracing the lines of the rope against his pecs while the other feeds the tail of the rope through one of the rings above them, back through the harness, and again through the rings. He pulls until the rope is taut and Kylo is is leaning at an angle, secures the line to itself, and steps around to look Kylo in the face.

Kylo isn't wrecked yet, but he's well on his way. He’s tethered to the rig, his arms are snug against his back, and Hux can do anything to him that he wants. Hux smiles his ghost of a smile, reaches behind Kylo, and slips his fingers into Kylo’s hands. “Squeeze.”

Kylo does, grip strong and sure. “I'm okay. No, um. No history of nerve issues,” he whispers.

“Good boy,” Hux murmurs, and Kylo shudders.

Higher brain function begins to desert him, and he gives himself over to the feel of the rope and Hux’s control. He lifts his foot when Hux taps it, balances on one leg as the other is tied, wiggles his toes when Hux asks him.

And then Hux is adjusting the tension of the ropes leading off his chest harness and his hips, angling his slim body against Kylo’s.

“Ready to go up?” Hux asks. He's breathing harder than he was before, flushing pink with adrenaline.

Kylo nods, eyes half closed.

And then Hux pulls on the rope attached to his ankle, and Kylo lets out a feral animal sound as his standing leg is tugged out from under him and the harness on his chest catches most of his body weight.

Hux ties off the ropes holding his hips, then his legs, and slips his fingers in Kylo’s hands again. Kylo squeezes tightly, panting through the strain of the position.

“I'm going to put something in your hand. If you need to come down, you will drop it and I will untie you immediately,” Hux says firmly, and presses a cold metal object into Kylo’s palm— a small bell. “I'm going to step away for a few moments, but I am not going to leave you alone.”

“...Kay,” Kylo grunts. He could relieve some of the pressure on his chest if he arched his back and tightened his core, but he has dropped well into his ropespace by now and he doesn't really care very much about fighting the position Hux has put him in.

Hux crosses to the table, opens the bottle of wine, and pours himself a glass. He takes a sip, surveying the picture in front of him.

“This is one of my favorites, did I tell you that or did you just guess?” He says in a conversational tone.

Kylo’s only response is a half-crazed giggle.

Hux takes another sip, sets the glass on the table, and walks back to Kylo. He runs his hand up one muscular thigh, laughing softly as Kylo quivers.

“You're stunning like this,” he says, and moves his hand higher. “Of course you would be, your very existence is a work of infuriating performance art. I should throw a cocktail party and make you the centerpiece, the priceless new work I’ve acquired.”

Kylo keens, trying to press his hips into Hux’s touch and groaning when the movement pulls on the rest of his body.

“Oh? Do you like that idea?” Hux asks. His voice is sweet and full of mock surprise.

Kylo blushes and whines.  

“Not today, you gorgeous thing. I've got something else to do first. But you can choose— I can do this slow and easy, or I can do it fast and hard. Whichever you want.”

“Hard. Please, Hux, hard,” Kylo pants. There are tears in his eyes. He’s not crying, not really, it's a purely physiological response to the stress on his body, but it still fills him with a sharp embarrassment that he relishes.

Hux laughs, low and wicked, and kisses Kylo’s shoulder. “You really are extraordinary.”

He busies his hands with the lines on the right side of Kylo’s body, and after a moment Kylo has the heartstopping sensation of falling— and then there's a sharp jerk and he’s hanging sideways and Hux is digging his knee into Kylo’s back, forcing him to arch into the empty air in front of him, and there are harsh moans that must be coming from him, and his muscles are aching and his skin is on fire, and Hux finishes tying off the lines and slips his fingers into Kylo’s hands and he squeezes and doesn't let go.

The rushing in his head subsides, and he realizes that his face is damp with tears, and he is achingly hard, and Hux is still standing against his back with his fingers caught in Kylo’s hands.

He forces himself to relax his hands; to let go of Hux but keep holding the bell, and takes as deep a breath as he can against the rope.

“That's it, slow breaths,” Hux murmurs as he runs his hands lightly across Kylo’s body, then smooths one over his hip and brushes long fingers lightly over his cock.

Kylo whines and tries to thrust forward, shouting as he succeeds only in intensifying the pull on his shoulders.

“Easy now,” Hux says softly, and then strokes his hand up the underside of Kylo’s cock and presses. “You're doing so well, you're taking it so well, I knew you would. You could take anything I gave you, and you'd do it so well. Breathe now, your body knows what to do.”

They stay like that for several moments, until Kylo’s harsh panting evens out.

“I'm going to step away again, all right? Can you nod or say okay?” Hux asks.

Kylo manages both, just barely.

Hux bends down and kisses his hip, finishing with a sharp nip before crossing the room to pick up his glass of wine and taking another few sips as he watches Kylo.

After a moment he speaks. “I left my singletail upstairs, I wish I'd thought to bring it down here. I'm not going to leave you here alone, but I would love to use it right now. Mark you up when you can't get away, when you have to just stay there and take it.”

Kylo moans brokenly, eyes half-lidded and hazy with pain and pleasure. He’s starting to tire now, his right hand is beginning to tingle, and his muscles twitch involuntarily.

“Well. I suppose it's best we leave something for next time,” Hux murmurs. He approaches Kylo again, stroking the wraps that bind his thigh to his calf. “I think you’re about ready to come down now, you gorgeous thing.”

It's disorienting to feel his body shifting as Hux lowers his legs until they are supporting his weight again, shaky as a newborn fawn. As the ropes are unwrapped from his body he feels raw; there's a sense of being poured out into the universe without a solid shape as Hux lowers him smoothly to the ground. It's easy enough to let himself be manhandled into a half-seated position with his back against Hux’s chest, and luxuriate in the methodical touch of Hux’s hands removing the rope from his body.

His hands are the last to be freed, and he drops the bell and whines as his shoulders relax. Hux guides his hands to the front of his body so that Kylo is hugging himself, wraps his slender arms around Kylo’s, and squeezes gently.

Kylo is crying again, cleansing tears that come from the aftermath of adrenaline.

They stay like that for several minutes, Hux murmuring soft endearments into the ligature marks on Kylo’s skin.

“Wow,” Kylo says finally.

Hux gives a wry half-smile. “Wow, indeed. Would you like some water? Fruit?”

“Yes, please.”

Hux stretches to reach a small cooler sitting just past the edge of the thick athletic mats that they are resting on, and pulls it close. He produces a bottle of water and a bag of grapes.

“Should have known this was all it would take to get you all sweet,” he teases, uncapping the bottle and holding it for Kylo to drink.

“Rope is. Rope is good,” Kylo declares once he's drained half the bottle, and opens his mouth for a grape.

Hux pops one in his waiting mouth; Kylo chews and swallows.

His mind is quiet. The grapes Hux continues to feed him are sharp bursts of light in his mouth.

Hux is warm and sure against him; taking care of him. He's spoken of ‘next time’ with enough specificity that Kylo, for once, almost believes him.

It is enough for now.

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to everyone on tumblr who participated in Kylux Fandom Positivity Day, which gave me the kick I needed to finally post this, even if the rest of what I've started to refer to as the "Slings and Arrows meets Center Stage AU" never sees the light of day. You're all aces, and I'm glad to know you! 
> 
> Note that the tie Hux does is based on a half-remembered intensive that I bottomed for a few years back— I can't recall the specific mechanics of the tie, so I'm being vague, but I do vividly remember the woman I was bottoming for digging her knee into my back as part of the transition between the two poses!
> 
> Come find me on tumblr at [teaandcathair](http://teaandcathair.tumblr.com/)


End file.
